We are extremely mindful that the business we run and earn our livelihoods from in turn has an impact on not only our environment but also the people in the countries we offer to our clients. To preserve the privilege that foreign travel allows, we manage our business on a day to day basis in a way that makes a positive contribution to the environment we benefit from and the cultures we interact with.

The travel industry has come under growing criticism for its contribution to CO2 emissions, putting the focus on tour operators and travelers to think more closely than historically has been the case about the impacts we have on climate change.

Carbon Dioxide is widely recognized as one of the leading agents that is affecting the environmental degradation of the world's environment. The cause of global warming itself is varied, complex and contentious, however it cannot be disputed that the world in which we live is definitely being affected negatively - due to many of our actions.

Foreign travel is a privilege and not a rite and as such we have a responsibility to ensure that a positive impact both is left economically, socially and environmentally through travel. To this end Incentive a la carte has the following policies in place to ensure that we promote sustainable tourism.

Environmental policy

Incentive à la carte aims to be a carbon neutral company. We actively manage this through a number of key initiatives; tracking our own carbon footprint, try and find ways of reducing it, and contribute to projects to reduce our carbon effect.  We measure all our client’s journeys and offset the calculated C02 emissions monthly through an equivalent investment in offset programmes which deliver real benefits. So rather than asking clients to voluntarily offset their emissions we take on the responsibility and cost of doing this.

We look for projects that will make a long term environmental impact and where we can benefit local communities. We work closely with Carbon Footprint and in particular their reforestation of parts of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya. This valuable project meets a number of objectives both environmental and socio economic, namely:

• Offset CO2 emissions through significant tree planting
• Protect and provide new wildlife habitats
• Create a brighter future for project team members including orphans and people living with HIV / AIDS

Social responsibility

Incentive a la carte offers a tailor made travel service and as such we rely heavily on our partners in the markets we operate in to deliver the exact service our clients demand. Our Partner selection policy is demanding due to the level of service we are proud to provide. The result is the use of a high percentage of individual operators or small local companies who are passionate about their countries and for whom we represent in some cases a large part of their livelihoods. Our focus on small number, high quality tourism allows these individuals to reduce the tourism footprint, expose our clients in a more involved manner to local culture while earning a decent return for their efforts.

The UK tourism industry is one of the most sophisticated in the world and our on going feedback programme demonstrates that the learning gained through serving our clients helps our partners to better understand and manage the opportunities for lower impact tourism in the future.

Economic responsibility

Incentive a la carte deal, where possible looks to support local communities at a grass roots level. We endeavour to work with local service providers with strong community links, where the tourism we provide leaves a lasting and positive impact. With our carbon offset scheme we also look at projects that generate local employment in impoverished regions thereby achieving twin aims of environment and economic advantage.